Thunderstorm
by VannuroRB
Summary: What do you suppose you can find in a thunderstorm?


There was a really big thunderstorm here the other day.

In the midst of flashing lights, I wanted to break from normal routine, and write something off the bat.

* * *

Thunderstorm~

As Yugi cooked his meal, there was a deep rumble that tore up the black sky, before slowly rolling out over the clouds. Yugi looked out the window thinking that he would see the darkest of clouds, but as it was night already, the black colour absorbed the incoming storm. With an uncertain hum, Yugi returned to his cooking, watching the steam rise in front of his face.

"I hope it's not a bad storm" Yugi mused quietly to himself, before cringing when a faint flash lit up the sky.

Having dealt with a hard day of work, and wanting nothing more than to rest his aching body, the idea of an intrusive storm was not pleasing. By the time he had eaten his meal, and readied himself for bed, the storm was sat on top of Yugi's house. Wind and rain pounded against the windows, and the flashing was accompanied with thunderous roaring, shaking and battering Yugi's home relentlessly. If Yugi had been a child again, he would have sworn that a monster was attempting to destroy his house, by the strength the storm possessed. He felt that he was lucky though, even as an adult, a monster sounded more terrible than an everyday storm.

Lying in bed, Yugi listened to the low whistle outside, rattling the locked windows of the house. It distracted him from sleep, constantly pulling him away from deep slumber, and only annoyed him further. He was tired from his hard work, and all he asked was to enjoy some sleep, but the weather had different ideas about it. He tossed and turned, played with the edge of his duvet, doing meaningless actions as he waited for the storm to pass. But as hours passed by, Yugi decided that the storm was going to play out all night, and tried once more to fall asleep again. After a few minutes of shutting his eyes, finding a comfortable position and trying to block out the horrendous noise of the storm outside, Yugi was disturbed again. This time, however, it was for a better reason.

A large crash came from downstairs, and Yugi shot up in his bed, just as a flash of lightning light up his room in an electric blue colour. Grasping the bed covers tightly, Yugi listened to the crack of nearing thunder, before fearful eyes turned to his bedroom door. He was sure he had locked the windows and doors before, but the noise had suggested otherwise, as it seemed impossible that something fell over on its own.

The prospect of a burglar was not inviting, and as Yugi sat in his bed, the dilemma of what to do sprung up. He was not strong; nor was he particularly a violent person, so the fantasy of fighting off an intruder was out of the question, and would most likely get him killed. However, if he wanted to call the police the phone was downstairs, on the same floor was the burglar was. No matter what he wanted to do, each route of choice would take him downstairs, placing him in the heat of danger.

After another flash and rumble, Yugi tried to listen closely, ignoring the clawing of rain. Aside from the outside forces, everything was perfectly quiet. Of course, Yugi expected there to be silence, but it still made him curious as to what the noise really was. Perhaps one of the windows had loosened up, and the wind had thrown it open, causing the violent noise from before. In all his life Yugi had never experienced burglary, and the neighbourhood looked peaceful when he moved in, it seemed hard to believe that crime was present at all.

After calming down and telling himself he was silly, Yugi slipped out of his bed, determined to find out the cause of the noise. He made sure to stay quiet, tiptoeing and moving slowly over the floor, and making his descend down the stairs. Once on the bottom floor, Yugi peered through the darkness, as he checked each room. Nothing had been moved, and with a constant stream of illuminating lights, there was no sign of a person inside the house. As with every inspection of each room, Yugi felt his body relax, and slowly returned to his content state.

Once reaching his kitchen, and a flash of lightning, Yugi found out the source of the noise from before. The kitchen window hung open, ruthlessly bullied by the gale, and inviting the rain into the warm home. As Yugi walked over to close the window, he could not help but give a chuckle, feeling even more foolish for worrying over nothing. With the window securely locked, and making sure that there was no chance of it opening again, Yugi was about to make his way back to bed. However, another loud thud made him freeze, and a flash of lightning blanketed the kitchen.

A part of him wanted to believe the new noise was another window opening, or the wind bashing against his house, but his ears told him that it resided somewhere inside the house. A mixture of panic and irritation cooked inside him, and as he grabbed a kitchen utensil to wield as a weapon, he decided to find out what was going on once and for all.

Holding his weapon like a bat, Yugi gently moved to the door of the kitchen, and peeked out into the corridor. It was clear, so Yugi moved on to the next room. Yugi checked each room extensively, making sure that any hiding spot was uncovered and thoroughly searched, before feeling satisfied that the room was empty. As he searched through the living room, another flash of lightning blinded through the windows, and the thud echoed once again.

Yugi jumped up in surprise, but turned to the stairs in the corridor, now certain that the noise was coming from upstairs instead. Each step he took up the stairs made them creak, making him mutter a curse under his breath, but still proceed nonetheless. Once reaching the top of the stairs, Yugi looked up and down the darkened hallway, making sure that it was empty before venturing further. As another bang emitted, Yugi jumped towards the cupboard, and watched it intently. There was no doubt that the noise was from within the cupboard, but if he were to open the doors, what was to say that the intruder would not attack him? With a measly kitchen utensil, Yugi was susceptible to any assault, leaving him an easy victim to anything the intruder would do. Still, he could not leave an intruder in his home, he would have to confront him sooner or later.

Having a tight grip on his weapon of choice, he took each step towards the cupboard, before throwing the door open. A flash of lightning brushed away the darkness, revealing the insides of the cupboard, and the person sat inside it.

The man was curled up under a shelf, hands pressed over his face, as he cowered at the sight of Yugi. From first glance, he looked to be younger than Yugi—somewhere in his teens, Yugi thought—and would be much more agile than Yugi was, only leaving Yugi confused as to why he was cringing in fear.

As Yugi let a minute of silence slid by them, he tried to gather as much courage as he could, holding up the utensil as he did so "Wh-Who are you?" Yugi demanded "What are you doing in my home? What do you want?"

With a small hiccup, the teen mumbled something under his hands "Speak up!" Yugi ordered.

"I-I'm scared…" He whimpered a little louder, curling tighter when a crack of lightning and thunder hit the ground "I-I-I don't want to…it's so scary…s-so…"

His pathetic snivelling touched Yugi's sympathetic side, and though he still had questions about the boys' intrusion, he lowered the utensil to disperse his threatening demeanour. Yugi moved closer to the cupboard, and knelt down, so he was on the same level as the teen.

"What's scary?" Yugi asked.

After a few moments of heavy sniffling, the teen looked out from in between his fingers, staring up at Yugi "The outside…" He whimpered.

"The outside? You mean…the storm?" Watching the teen nod his head, Yugi gave a sigh, and rested his arms over his knees "Well you can't stay in my cupboard, can you?" Even though the teen gave a nod, Yugi tried to keep his patience, and shuffled a closer "Well, first of all, you're breaking and entering, that's illegal. I can call the police and get you arrested you know? Tell me a reason why I shouldn't?"

Though the teen did not respond, his watery and apologetic eyes looked up at Yugi, making him sigh as he knew he would never be able to keep his threat "Well…my name is Yugi, what's yours?" The teen did not answer, only shaking his head as an answer "Well…is there someone I can call? Parents? Guardians? Friends?"

The teen persisted to shake his head, his fingers slightly gripping his skin "No one…I'm scared…"

Though Yugi knew there were parents missing their son, it was clear that he was not going to move the teen easily, and would have to quell his fears before he would return the teen back home. Setting aside the utensil, Yugi scooted closer once more, sitting himself in the doorway of the cupboard.

"Come on, it's just a little rain right? You can't be scared of that can you?" The teen shook as another rumble of thunder cracked from the sky, making Yugi reach out, and lightly touch his arm "Come on, I'm trying to help you out here. You'll have to come out of my cupboard or…I-I'll have to call the police, and they'll drag you out, trust me".

At the light threat, the teen finally lifted his head from his hands, and began to ease himself out of the cupboard. At the movement, Yugi shuffled back as well, and stood up from the cupboard. The teen cautiously crawled out of his hiding spot, and after checking the corridor windows, stood up on his feet as well—though reached the same startling height as Yugi.

"Right…well…" Yugi cleared his throat nervously, quickly reaching down to pick up his weapon, and turn to the teen again "Suppose you want to go home then, right? Shall I…call your mum? Or…dad…?"

The teen shook his head "Don't have…anyone…"

"Oh…right" Yugi rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to take the negative answer, but felt that he had offended the teen "Well, is there someone you want me to call? Or…you can call?"

Once again, the teen shook his head "Well…the storm seems like it's going to stay for a while, you can't stay in my house".

The teen gave a depressed sigh, and when a flash of lightning and thunder came about, he clamped his hands over his ears and cringed some more. Watching the teen wince in fear, Yugi bit his lip, and began walking towards the stairs.

"Come on, let's head downstairs" Yugi suggested, waiting for the teen to follow his lead "We'll turn on the lights, it'll help with the lightning".

Once the two were downstairs, Yugi flipped the light switch on, bathing the room in gold light. The teen idly looked around the living room, before moving closer in, and sitting down on the sofa. Though the storm continued on outside, the lightning was dimmed out by the light inside, and seemed to make the teen much calmer.

Yugi set down the utensil aside, standing in front of the teen, he crossed his arms over his chest "Alright…what's your name?"  
The teen looked up at Yugi, but let his eyes quickly fall back to the floor, his hands idly playing with each other "Yami…"

"Yami? Just Yami?" The teen gave a nod, making Yugi sigh "Alright. Yami, what were you doing in my house? Aside from hiding from the lightning".

"Just…that" He answered "I was near the house…I…I got scared…and came in…I'm sorry if I startled you I…I just don't want to be outside right now…"

"Well, why don't you want me to call your home? Surely that's got to be better than hiding out in some strangers home, right?"

Yami shook his head defiantly "They…don't want me…"

"Great, probably a runaway or something" Yugi thought to himself.

The two stayed in silence, only broken by the rumble of thunder, and making the teen shudder at the sound of it. Watching Yami react to the present thunder, Yugi looked around the living room, trying to find anything that would help drown out the sound. His eyes soon turned to the stereo, and the few music cd's that he kept from his grandfather.

"How about some music?" Yugi offered, making Yami lift his head again "You must like music right? It'll help with some of the sound now, right?"

Yugi moved over to the stereo, turning it on, and picking up the top cd case. After waiting for the machine to switch on, Yugi slipped in the cd, and chose a track to play. Once the music started playing, Yugi quickly adjusted the levels, so the music was louder than the swirling storm outside the window.

After a minute of listening to the music, Yami gave a frown "What kind of crap is this?"

Slightly offended by the blunt question, Yugi turned back to Yami, hands on his hips "This is the music I got from my grandfather if you don't mind" Yugi responded, a slight scowl on his face "It may not be…metal or…whatever it is you're into, but it's better than listening to the storm outside, isn't it?"  
Yami stared up at Yugi, before nodding in agreement "Sorry…" He mumbled.

With his apology said, Yugi gave up trying to be aggressive, and breathed out a sigh once more. Even with the music playing loudly, Yami still looked nervous sitting where he was, forcing Yugi to come up with another solution to soothe him. As the beat started to pick up, Yugi started to sway his hips to the side, and click his fingers in time with the rhythm. Yami looked up at Yugi, watching him dance to the music, with a curious gaze to the older man.

"What are you doing?" Yami questioned.

"Dancing, what else?" Yugi responded, swinging his body more.

"Did your grandfather teach you to dance as well?" Yami mocked, a light smirk on his face.

"My grandfather taught me that dance is how you want to express it" Yugi answered, gaining his own smile as he danced more "If that's a problem, well, you know where the door is".

Yami only gave a shrug as a response, and turned his head away, wanting to listen to the music only. Watching Yami a little more, Yugi tried to give a warm smile, and stood in front of Yami. When noticing their close proximity, Yami looked back up at Yugi, having to lean back a little to put some space in between them.

"What?"

"Come dance with me" Yugi encouraged, reaching out he grabbed Yami's hands, and pulled him up to his feet.

"N-No…I'm not a good dancer" Yami tried to reason, but did little to resist Yugi's hold.

"I'm not judging you on your skill, I just want you to have fun, alright?" Yugi let go of Yami's hands, and began swinging his hips again "So come on, I want to see you dance".

Yami gave a small groan, but when watching Yugi dance for a while, he found himself mimicking Yugi's actions. As the song changed one after the other, the two continued dancing nonstop, only when the cd reached the end did they stop moving. When Yugi moved over to take the cd out, Yami backed himself to the couch, and let his body fall down in exhaustion. His warm body cooked his aching muscles, and forced him to pant heavily to catch his breath, but he remained smiling nonetheless.

"That…was a lot of fun…" Yami gasped, leaning back against the sofa, so he could hang his head on the side "So tired though…"

Yugi gave a chuckle, and once he turned the stereo off, turned back to Yami "Do you want a drink or something?" Yami gave a shake as his answer "You sure? Okay then".

Yugi slid past the sofa, leaving Yami alone in the living room, while he poured himself a small drink. Quenching his thirst with a cold drink, Yugi returned to the living room, and sat himself next to Yami. After taking a few more sips of his drink, Yugi set the cup aside, and turned to Yami.

"You certain you don't want a drink?" Yugi queried "I have a lot of things, so…"

Yami shook his head, and set his gaze to various spots in the living room "Do you…live alone Yugi?" He asked curiously.

"As of this moment, yeah".

"Isn't that…scary?"

Yugi chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his head "Not really. I'm not really used to having too much company at once anyway, so, I kinda like being on my own sometimes".

Yami gave a small hum, and let his eyes fall down to his knees, where his hands idly played with his trousers "Umm…are you by any chance, afraid of lightning, or something?" Yugi inquired.

Yami laughed weakly, but nodded his head "Sort of…I'm…I'm kind of…afraid of everything to be honest".

"Everything?"

"Yeah. Life, death, things that can hurt me, things that can't hurt me. I'm always worrying about something" A sigh left Yami, as his shoulders slumped down, and he slid slightly in the seat "No one really likes me because of it, and I try not to…but…I can't help it…"

Yugi kept silent for a few moments, his eyes watching his placed cup, while a few rumbles caught up with the storm "It must be pretty hard, worrying about everything, and especially for someone so young".

Yami nodded to the statement "But…I just can't help it. I mean, how do I know that tomorrow, when I walk out the door, I won't get hit by a car? Or that some mugger will attack me? How do I know that what I eat is alright? Or how do I know that lightning won't strike me? I don't want to annoy people by worrying all the time, it's just that I don't know when these things happen, so I don't know how to stop them" Yami breathed out another sigh, though heavier and shakier, before turning his head away "Sorry…"

"It's alright" Yugi comforted "But…you know it's a waste of time, right?"

Yami looked back at Yugi "Huh?"

"Worrying about everything, and whether you'll die or not, it's a waste of time" Yugi gave a soft smile "We're all going to die anyway, that's a given, we just don't know when. If you spend your life wondering and worrying about when that is, you'll miss out on some of the best parts of life, and you'd look back and realised that you wasted your life. While I know it's important to be safe, if something happens, there's no way of avoiding it, it just does. All you can do is enjoy your life how you want to, and accept the end when it comes, because you know you've done what you wanted with your life beforehand".

"But…what if someone said that the world was going to be destroyed the next day? You're saying you wouldn't be scared?"

"Well, I would a little" Yugi admitted "But being scared wouldn't stop the world blowing up would it? If it came down to it, I'd be happy that I got to spend my time like this. I had a good family, great friends, and I'm happy with where I am now. If it were to end the next day, I'd have no reason to complain about it".

Yami looked away at Yugi's answer, seemingly a little disappointed by Yugi's honesty, and did not question him further. After a few moments of silence, Yugi glanced out of the window, hearing the rain slow down from its ferocious pace.

"Well…how about it?" Yugi prompted.

Yami turned back to Yugi "About what?"

"Do you feel like you lived your life how you wanted it to? Do you have some good times?"

Yami paused to think for a moment, before answering unsurely "I…have my parents. I suppose…that's good right?"

"Yeah, it is".

"And…well…spending time with you was fun".

"Likewise Yami. Well, it sounds like the storm is starting to calm down, you want to stay here a little longer?" Yami gave a nod "Okay, well…how about some TV? Want to watch something?"

"Okay".

Yugi got up from his seat, picking up the remote, and turned the screen on to the first channel. Once sat next to Yami again, Yugi idly flicked through the late night programmes, before settling on something he felt Yami would enjoy. After a few moments of watching the programme, Yami managed to pull a small smile.

"Thank you Yugi" He whispered.

"Hm? What for?"

"For putting up with me, I guess".

"That's alright Yami".

The two continued watching TV deep into the night, making idle chit chat now and then about casual topics, and forgetting to check if the storm outside had passed away or not. But as the night drew out, Yugi grew even more tired, and his memory began to blur into one. Though he tried to stay awake for Yami's sake, it seemed that his body could not cope with the long hours, and forced him to fall asleep.

As Yugi woke up the next morning, he was greeted with the unusual sound of a formal voice, so weakly opened his eyes to look around. Through his hazed vision, he could make out the television still on, and broadcasting the early news. As the reporter went through the headlines of the day, Yugi groggily pushed himself up on the sofa, and gave a loud yawn. Once composing himself, Yugi turned to the spot next to him, only to find it absent of Yami's presence.

Rubbing his eyes, Yugi looked around the living room, making sure that Yami had not stood somewhere else. Still missing, Yugi stood up from his seat "Yami?" He called out.

Yugi shut the TV off, and began searching for Yami, working around each room. Yami was nowhere to be found, and after a small terrifying thought, checked that nothing of value was taken either. The likely scenario Yugi came up with was that Yami simply left, when seeing the storm had gone away and that it was late in the night, the teen felt that he should return home and leave Yugi in peace. Though Yugi was a little concerned about Yami's wellbeing, he told himself that Yami was smart enough to get himself back home, and decided that the adventure had ended there and then.

A few days later, Yugi walked home by himself again, groaning as his joints pulsed with aching pain. As Yugi rolled his shoulders back, he passed a crossing, and a group of young school children who ran past him. Hearing their cheerful banter, Yugi smiled in response, and was about to carry on home. He stopped however, and with a frown on his face, returned to the crossing on the road. He looked to the metal barrier along the path, and stared down at the small object at its feet.

A small tin can was sat by itself, stripped of its labelling, and housed a few wilting flowers. It appeared to be a makeshift memorial, and had been there for a while, judging by the sad state it was in. As a car drove by, a small fluttering noise came from the can, and Yugi noticed that it had a note attached to it. Bending down, Yugi picked up the can and turned it, reading the note stuck to the can. Yugi felt his stomach tighten into a knot, as he read the short but heartfelt message.

Dear Yami,

May your worries be put to rest, wherever you are.

R.I.P

* * *

And that's all you're getting folks.

It's just a little thing. Expect bigger things soon though! Oh much bigger…

Review if you like!


End file.
